DirtyDeeds Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 Blue Jackets fire Howson after club makes playoffs once in his 5-plus seasons The Canadian Press 2013-02-12 20:12:00 COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Blue Jackets have fired general manager Scott Howson. The move was announced by John Davidson, the club's director of hockey operations, in an email on Tuesday night.The announcement came roughly 24 hours after the Blue Jackets' biggest win of the season, 6-2 over the San Jose Sharks on Monday. Howson was hired as executive vice-president and general manager on June 15, 2007. The Blue Jackets (4-7-2) will begin a six-game trip Friday at Los Angeles. During Howson's tenure, the Blue Jackets went 173-190-59 and made their lone Stanley Cup playoff appearance after a franchise-best 41-31-10 mark in the 2008-09 season. The club then fell on hard times and had the worst record in the NHL last season (29-46-7, 65 points). Star forward Rick Nash was traded during the off-season. Does not surprise me at all. Taking the Nash thing public didn't help that situation at all last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_People1 Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 Columbus is one of those rare expansion teams that appears to be healthy and doing well in attendance. They deserve better. They got a good prospect pool of Defensemen with Ryan Murray, John Moore, David Savard, and Tim Erixon. Unfortunately, they seemed to have ruined Ryan Johansen. Plus Derrick Brassard is already ruined beyond saving. I really like Cam Atkinson and Matt Calvert but i think overall, this team is about 3 top 6 forwards, 2 Dmen, and 1 legitimate starting goalie away from contending for the playoffs. That's a tall order for a franchise that traditionally doesn't attract any UFA's in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cross16 Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 not a suprise. He's record has been spotty at best and with Davidson coming in you'd figure he would want his own guy. Interesting thought that they still let him trade their former franchise player and then let him go within the next 6 months. That's a big franchise altering trade you just let a lame duck GM do... Columbus does have something going though becuase they are starting to get some very good prosepcts and if I remember correctly will have 3 first round picks in the draft this year. They have needs, althought their D core is looking good for the next few season, but they are going to have the assets to get what they need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crzydrvr Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 Agreed with Peeps, Columbus is one of my favorite "sleeper" markets because of all the potential. It's a shame that the BJs haven't taken advantage of it, because Ohio loves its winners and they could use a team that actually brings them reason to cheer. I also like having a challenge, and thus whenever I start a Be a GM in NHL 13, it's always a rebuilding team with little in the cupboards. Unfortunately, that means that Columbus is usually one of my frontrunners for that choice. I've used them so often it feels like they're my second team. From the ownership losing massive amounts of money to the 10,000 attendance draws to the single postseason berth in franchise history, it's been slow and forgettable their first baker's dozen years of existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crzydrvr Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Jarmo Kekelainen was just hired as the new GM of the Jackets, first European NHL GM in NHL history. That's going to make it a little harder to find a job later, but congrats to him, there's no one else who deserves it more. He's a good draft and develop guy, so he's perfect for a team that hasn't drafted much besides Rick Nash and a bunch of average players. Potentially the answer in Columbus? I'm not sure they can take much more if he fails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulstad Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Jarmo Kekelainen was just hired as the new GM of the Jackets, first European NHL GM in NHL history. That's going to make it a little harder to find a job later, but congrats to him, there's no one else who deserves it more. He's a good draft and develop guy, so he's perfect for a team that hasn't drafted much besides Rick Nash and a bunch of average players. Potentially the answer in Columbus? I'm not sure they can take much more if he fails. I have often felt sorry for Columbus. They have been much more deserving than what they've been receiving over the years. Hopefully this "new blood" will help kickstart something good for them. I also hope that JD will have the blessing from the owners to have patience with the changes (ie: 3 years to fully explore what they have). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DL44 Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I like Jarmo... I started posting on a Blues forum back in '04ish up to a few yrs ago, and i've had plenty of opportunity to read up on how highly acclaimed this guy was there and his track record prior in Ottawa. I can't wait to see what he can do outside the development level. With Davidson working closely with him, i think CBJ will be in good hands... I'm cheering for em hard to become a Have team/market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 He's got a good resume & has worked with JD before. Good luck Kekalainen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnrefinedCrude Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 ... Interesting thought that they still let him trade their former franchise player and then let him go within the next 6 months... I expected it. Nash was their only star, and by far and away their most popular player. Letting Howson trade him ( I doubt he was allowed any autonomy in the move,) means the new guy doesn't have to risk any aversion from the fans for having "blood on his hands" if the trade didn't workout well. That said, I think the BJ's have some rock solid hockey men and hockey minds to right their ship. I can only hope my Oilers follow this cue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zirakzigil Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 Jarmo will be good for them. And with 3 first round picks (slight chance all are in the top 10 as well) they could go a long way rebuilding their forward ranks this draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DL44 Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Jarmo's 1st move woulda been a fantastic one.. claiming O'Reilly off of waivers! Talk about changes in Columbus... How bad would McPhee of looked/felt having burnt his '1st in line' claim a day earlier on Volpatti and therefore being tossed to the back of the line with no shot at #37. Comedy all around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnrefinedCrude Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 Jarmo's 1st move woulda been a fantastic one.. claiming O'Reilly off of waivers! Talk about changes in Columbus... How bad would McPhee of looked/felt having burnt his '1st in line' claim a day earlier on Volpatti and therefore being tossed to the back of the line with no shot at #37. Comedy all around! I think Volpatti is a good fit for the Caps, in fact i was kind of surprised your team waived him. I haven't watched a tonne of Canucks games this year, but the several I have Volpatti seemed pretty good ( he was good in the games against the Oilers last year too.) maybe my smaller sample size means I missed some bador inconistent play. But was it a cap move? that said, McPhee saw a chance to improve his team and took it. You can't wait for the perfect move everytime, you could end up waiting forever, then you look like the guy who runs my team. Everyone was wondering why no one had thrown out offer sheets on O'Reilly, I have to think this scenario is a part of it, after all, it wasn'tthat long ago that the precedent was set, with the Isles claiming Nabokov. The only thing that changed in the new CBA is the th league made the exmption they made for Nashville (for Radulov,) permanent. ( that a player need not be exposed to waivers if he returns from a foreign league to the team that had him on their own RFA list at the beginning of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DL44 Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 I think Volpatti is a good fit for the Caps, in fact i was kind of surprised your team waived him. I haven't watched a tonne of Canucks games this year, but the several I have Volpatti seemed pretty good ( he was good in the games against the Oilers last year too.) maybe my smaller sample size means I missed some bador inconistent play. But was it a cap move? that said, McPhee saw a chance to improve his team and took it. You can't wait for the perfect move everytime, you could end up waiting forever, then you look like the guy who runs my team. Everyone was wondering why no one had thrown out offer sheets on O'Reilly, I have to think this scenario is a part of it, after all, it wasn'tthat long ago that the precedent was set, with the Isles claiming Nabokov. The only thing that changed in the new CBA is the th league made the exmption they made for Nashville (for Radulov,) permanent. ( that a player need not be exposed to waivers if he returns from a foreign league to the team that had him on their own RFA list at the beginning of the season. I get why McPhee added Volpatti.. no one knew there was any potential of O'Reily hitting the waiver wire. What I was saying.. washington boards woulda exploded if they had missed out because they took Volpatti. Volpatti: - 4th liner. - very fast - good at getting in on the forecheck - good at getting the clean hit in - good fighter basically has a lot of tools to be an NHL player, and will be a decent roster player somewhere. - no real shot - 4th line level offensive instincts... but you could see some improvement in that department from previous stints. - not yet reliable for significant minutes.. but definitely not a 5 min/night plug by any means. I don't know... I'm hoping they waived him because they think Pinizotto is better, and this was a calculated risk they didn't mind. But i'm not a 100% sure thats the deal with the new addition off of waivers today that seems reactionary to losing Volpatti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnrefinedCrude Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 I get why McPhee added Volpatti.. no one knew there was any potential of O'Reily hitting the waiver wire. What I was saying.. washington boards woulda exploded if they had missed out because they took Volpatti. Ah, I get ya. I agree too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.